Uncle Jason
by suburbs
Summary: Jason was the best uncle ever. Companion to Naptime, Mitchie Takes a Nap, and Daddy's Turn .
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock, Disney Princess Sing-A-Long or Candyland.

No one was more excited than Jason when Nate and Caitlyn found out that they were having a baby. He picked Shane up off the ground, spinning and shouting, "We're going to be uncles!"

After dropping his less-than-amused bandmate, he rushed over to Caitlyn and gave her a huge hug. "This is so awesome! I can't wait to babysit. Wait, I _do_ get to be an uncle, right?"

Caitlyn laughed. "I love you, Jason. And yes, Uncle Jason can babysit."

Nate gave his wife an incredulous look. He loved Jason like a brother, but the guy could barely take care of himself. There was no way he was leaving their baby with him. For all Nate knew, Jason might get distracted by a bird and wander off, leaving the baby in the middle of a park.

In the end, Jason turned out to be the best "uncle" any kid could have, partially because he was still a bit of a kid himself. He never minded getting messy or looking goofy. He didn't care if a story had a point or that he had heard it before. He never complained about watching the same video over and over. He would laugh at every knock-knock joke, even when you didn't quite get it right. And once he and the girls had established that you didn't touch Uncle Jason's guitars, he never got mad.

Even Nate had to admit that Jason was amazing with the girls and gave up worrying when Jason babysat. After Caitlyn had her second baby, Jason decided that he would try once a month (when they were not on tour) to have a special "Uncle Jason Day" with each girl. Sometimes they would go to the zoo or a park. He would even take them to their "Mommy and Me" parent participation gymnastics class occasionally, to the delight of the other moms.

Jason and Annabelle were especially close. The four year-old loved spending time with her uncle. She was so excited when her parents told her he was coming to babysit, so they could take Melody to the doctor for her two-year check up. Annabelle had big plans, including dress-up, Candyland and a new video.

Jason had barely made it into the house before Annabelle pounced, "Can we watch Disney Princess Sing-a-Long?"

"Of course, Princess Annabelle. Your wish is my command," Jason replied, plopping down on the couch and picking up the remote control.

Nate laughed at his friend as he headed out the door. "Have fun with that, man." Nate had watched the DVD once before adding it to the list of "things to do when Daddy was gone".

"Uncle Jay?" Annabelle said as she climbed up onto the couch and snuggled next to Jason.

"What can I do for you, my little Annie-bird?"

She giggled at Jason's nickname for her. "You are my most favoritest person in the whole world."

Her eyes were glued to the television screen, so she did not see Jason wipe away a tear. The he leaned down and kissed her curly head. His voice was a little gruff as he said, "I love you, Annie-bird."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock. This is for LittleRedOne because she read and reviewed every one of my Camp Rock stories. This is based on a conversation that a four year old had with my sister.

"Uncle Jason, why aren't you married?" Annabelle asked. Mitchie and Caitlyn both almost spit out their drinks when they heard the four year old.

"Annabelle, you don't ask people that," Caitlyn said.

Annabelle looked at her mother with confusion. "Why not?"

Caitlyn sighed, "Because it makes some people sad." Annabelle looked up at Jason with a worried look on her face. She never wanted to make Uncle Jason sad. But he didn't look sad; he actually looked amused.

"It's okay, Caitlyn. I've never gotten married because I haven't met the right person yet," Jason told the little girl.

"Oh." Annabelle thought about it for a minute. "You know Uncle Jason, you should really start looking." Mitchie and Jason just barely contained their laughter, keeping it in only because they knew Annabelle was serious. Caitlyn looked like she wanted to slide under the table. "No, really, Uncle Jason, you need to start looking."

Caitlyn tried to distract her daughter. "Sweetheart it is not that easy."

"Why not? Maybe we could put up some signs. Like when people have lost their dog."

That put Jason and Mitchie over the edge. They started to laugh so hard that tears rolled down their cheeks. Annabelle didn't think it was funny. Jason finally got himself under control and smiled down at his niece. "How about we go get your sister and watch a video?"

"Okay, Uncle Jason. But I still think that you need to look for a wife."

"I will definitely think about it, Annabelle," Caitlyn and Mitchie heard Jason say as he left the room with the little girl.

Mitchie looked at Caitlyn thoughtfully. "Your daughter does have a point."

Caitlyn nodded. "Who do we know that is good enough for him, though?"


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock, the Wonder Pets, Sesame Street or Zoe.

Caitlyn thought that her best friend might be going crazy. First, Mitchie insisted that Caitlyn bring Melody and Annabelle to their lunch with Peggy, guaranteeing that Caitlyn was not going to be able to talk with her friend who she hadn't seen in years. Then, Mitchie broke one of Caitlyn and Nate's main rules (never sit a child next to someone who wasn't a parent when eating at a restaurant) and helped Annabelle into a seat next to Peggy. Now Caitlyn was frantically searching for something on the menu to order for her daughter that wouldn't stain Peggy's designer top.

"Mommy do they have onion soup?" Annabelle asked.

Caitlyn looked quickly at Peggy's brown top and then down at the menu. She sighed with relief. "Yes, sweetheart, you can have French onion soup."

Peggy looked up from her menu in surprise. "You like French onion soup?"

Annabelle nodded her head. "It's my favorite. Mommy, can I have my paper?"

Caitlyn reached inside her bag and pulled out a box of crayons and a pad of paper for her daughter before responding to Peggy. "Nate didn't want the girls to be picky eaters, so he made them try all sorts of things. Now he is paying the price because Annabelle never wants anything from the kids menu. She wants salmon or shrimp or soup."

"Do you want to play tic-tac-toe?" Annabelle asked Peggy.

"Annabelle, you have to wait until everyone has decided what they are having first," Caitlyn told her daughter.

Peggy laughed and looked at the little girl next to her. "Give me a minute to figure out what I'm having, and I would love to play with you."

Peggy happily played several games with Annabelle and drew a picture with Melody before the food arrived. Caitlyn collected all the supplies and turned to Peggy. "So what have you been doing since I saw you last?"

Peggy smiled. "I am trying to finish up my album so it can hit the stores before Christmas. I don't suppose I could talk you into coming into the studio and helping?"

Caitlyn laughed. "As much as I would love to help, I sort of have my hands full."

Annabelle looked up at Peggy with interest. "Do you sing like Daddy and Auntie Mitchie?"

"I do," Peggy replied. "I also do voices for cartoons sometimes. In fact, I was the flamingo on the Wonder Pets once."

Annabelle clapped her hands in excitement . "I love the Wonder Pets! Did you know Daddy, Uncle Shane and Uncle Jason were on Sesame Street once? They got to sing with Zoe."

Peggy nodded, "I actually recorded that episode. They were great."

Annabelle smiled and began to quietly eat her soup. Mitchie was grinning as she played with her salad. Caitlyn felt like she had missed something important. A few minutes later, Annabelle spoke, "Did you know that my Uncle Jason is the bestest guitar player in the world?"

"What about your dad?" Caitlyn asked.

"Silly Mommy! Even Daddy says Uncle Jason is better," Annabelle replied. She turned to look at Peggy. "Maybe Uncle Jason could help you with your songs."

Caitlyn looked confused as Mitchie began to laugh.

After lunch the women headed out to the parking lot. Peggy walked in front with Annabelle discussing the relative merits of the three Wonder Pets. Caitlyn carried Melody on one hip and used her other hand to stop Mitchie. "What was so funny back there?"

"I can't believe that Annabelle caught on before you did," Mitchie laughed.

"What are you talking about?"

"I want to set Peggy up with Jason, but I figured I would see how she did with the girls first," Mitchie replied.

The two women turned to watch Peggy hold Annabelle's hand as the little girl walked along the raised edge of the planter. Caitlyn grinned at Mitchie and called out, "Peggy, what are you doing this weekend? Do you want to come over for dinner on Saturday?"


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock.

Mitchie and Caitlyn's plan was not going quite as they expected. Everything started so smoothly - Peggy and Jason had both accepted the invitation to dinner at Nate and Caitlyn's, unaware that their friends wanted to set them up. Nate and Shane were mostly on board with the idea and had agreed to behave themselves. When Peggy arrived, Jason had given her an enthusiastic hug and commented on how wonderful she looked. It had been downhill from there.

After Jason had stepped back from hugging Peggy, Melody and Annabelle rushed over, vibrating with excitement.

"Hi Peggy," Annabelle said. "Do you remember me?"

"Of course, Annabelle," Peggy said with a smile.

"Peg-gee! See my room!" Melody exclaimed.

Caitlyn groaned. Melody always wanted to show every visitor her bedroom; it didn't matter if you had been there the day before, she still wanted to give you a tour of her room. "Melody, baby, Ms. Peggy just got here. Maybe you could show her your room later."

"Please, Mommy," Melody asked, her big brown eyes filling up with tears.

Peggy smiled at Caitlyn, "I honestly don't mind."

Caitlyn paused for a moment before looking down at her daughter and nodding. She warned her friend, "Just so you know, if you take Melody's tour, Annabelle will want to show you her room too."

Peggy laughed as Melody took her hand and started to lead her upstairs.

Normally Annabelle would have been following along behind trying to compete for Peggy's attention, but she had not seen Jason in a few weeks and was happy to have him to herself. She dragged her uncle off to play Candyland.

That was how the night had gone – somehow the girls managed to keep either Peggy or Jason or both occupied all night. Caitlyn and Nate had tried to distract the girls, but both of their friends seemed determined to thwart the plan. Jason and Peggy barely said a handful of words to each other, instead focusing on entertaining the girls.

Caitlyn breathed a sigh of relief when it was time to put the girls to bed, but then Jason offered to read the girls a good-night story. Mitchie watched Peggy as Jason and Caitlyn headed out the dining room to put the girls to bed. There was a soft, thoughtful look on Peggy's face. A minute later she snapped out of it and joined the conversation.

Caitlyn came back first after getting the girls settled into bed. She had picked a short book for Jason to read in hopes of getting him back down quickly. Peggy looked down at her watch and back up at Caitlyn.

"I had such a good time tonight, but I'm afraid I am going to have to head home soon. I have to be at the studio really early tomorrow," Peggy said.

"Really? Are you sure you can't stay a little longer?" Caitlyn asked. "We didn't get much of a change to talk with the girls around."

"Maybe we could get a babysitter and all get together another night," Nate suggested. His wife gave him a grateful look.

"That sounds great," Peggy said.

Jason came down the stairs as Peggy was saying goodbye. He looked at everyone gathered in the entryway with confusion. "What's going on?"

"Peggy's heading home. She has to be at the studio early tomorrow," Mitchie explained.

"Oh," Jason looked thoughtful for a minute. He looked Peggy in the eye and asked, "Would you like to go to dinner with me later this week?"

Peggy's eyes lit up and she smiled at Jason. "I would love to." She pulled her phone out of her purse and asked Jason for his number. After she was done, Jason put his arm around her shoulder. "How about I walk you to your car?"

He was humming happily to himself when he returned to the house a few minutes later. He walked up to Mitchie and Caitlyn and pulled them in to one of his famous group hugs. "Thanks, girls."

Mitchie and Caitlyn looked at each other and back at Jason. "What are you thanking us for?" Caitlyn asked hesitantly.

"For setting me up with Peggy. I'd forgotten how much I liked her."

"But how did you…" Mitchie started to ask.

"I'm smarter than I look, you know," Jason answered. He turned to Nate and Shane, "I think I have an idea for a new song I want to bounce off of you."

The boys headed down the hallway towards the music room. As soon as they closed the door to the soundproof room, Nate turned to Jason and smirked. He loved Jason like a brother, but there was no way he'd figured out the girls' plan on his own. "Annabelle tattled, huh?"

Jason grinned. "Yup. She didn't make it through the first game of Candyland."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock. Bahjcb requested a chapter about how the girls would respond to having to share Jason, so here it is for you. Complete with four-year old angst.

For the first time that Jason could remember, Annabelle wasn't there to greet him when he entered Nate and Caitlyn's house. He had knocked and let himself in, expecting to find two excited little girls waiting for him. Melody had run over to him as usual, launching herself into his arms, but Annabelle was nowhere to be found. After giving Melody a big hug, he handed her over to Peggy. "Hey, Mel, where's your sister?" he asked.

Melody laughed as Peggy spun her around. When she finally stopped giggling, she pointed towards the family room. "Watching T.V."

Caitlyn joined them as Shane and Mitchie walked through the door. She looked around, wondering where her oldest daughter was. She looked at Melody, "Is your sister still watching television?"

When her youngest nodded, Caitlyn sighed and headed in search of Annabelle. She found the four-year old sitting on the couch, staring intently at the screen. "Annabelle, everyone is here. Let's turn off the television and go say hello."

"I don't want to. I want to watch the show," her daughter sulked.

"Annabelle Michaela, please do not talk to me like that. I asked you to turn off the television and go say hello," Caitlyn said in an even, but firm voice.

Annabelle's eyes began to fill with tears. "Mommy, I wanna watch T.V."

Caitlyn got down on her knees and looked at her daughter. "Annabelle, what is going on?"

Annabelle sniffled and then told her mother, "I think I need to go to my room."

Caitlyn sighed and kissed Annabelle on the forehead. "Okay."

Annabelle ran upstairs to her room without even looking at her confused aunts and uncles. Caitlyn headed over towards her friends with an apologetic look. "This is her new thing. When she starts to get upset, she sends herself to her room for quiet time. I don't know what is going on with her. She has been so grouchy lately. It's like she decided to take Melody's terrible twos." She looked worriedly upstairs. "How about you all head outside. Nate is attempting to barbeque tonight, so he could probably use some moral support."

As they headed towards the backyard, Mitchie laughed and turned to Peggy, "Last time he tried to barbeque, the hamburgers were like hockey pucks, and we ended up ordering pizza."

"Hey," Nate shouted, "I heard that! And I bought a how-to book, so I think I can do it this time."

Shane gave Caitlyn an incredulous look. "He bought a book to learn to barbeque?"

"Why are you surprised? This is Nate. He hates being bad at anything," Caitlyn replied. She looked back and noticed that Jason was still standing in the entry way, looking up towards Annabelle's room. She headed over and put her hand on his arm. "You coming?"

"She didn't come give me a hug," Jason said, looking hurt.

"Jason, honey, she's four. She's going through a phase. Please don't take it personally," Caitlyn said. "You know she adores you. Sometimes I think that Nate is a little bit jealous because she would rather play with you than either of us."

Jason smiled a little and followed Caitlyn outside where he was attacked by Melody. She wanted to tell Jason and Peggy about her new doll. A few minutes later, Caitlyn walked over to Nate. "Do you think one of us should go talk to her?" she asked her husband.

"How long has she been up there?"

Caitlyn looked down at her watch, "About five minutes, which is an eternity for a four-year old."

Nate nodded, "How about we give her a few more minutes to come down on her own. If we don't see her soon, I'll go up."

To both of their surprise, Shane spoke, "How about I go check on her?"

Everyone stopped and looked at him in shock. Shane looked mildly offended. "What?"

Mitchie raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend. "You usually hand over the girls the moment either of them gets upset or messy."

"Point taken, but I thought that the novelty might bring her around," Shane said earnestly. "Maybe she'll want to come down and sing with me."

Mitchie looked at Caitlyn, who shrugged. "He's more than welcome to try. And she does like Uncle Shane sing-along time."

Shane grinned and headed into the house. He knocked on Annabelle's door before opening it. He found the little girl curled up on her bed clutching a stuffed monkey. She looked up as he entered the room.

"Hi, Munchkin. I was wondering if you learned any new songs this week," Shane said.

Annabelle sniffled before responding, "I don't wanna sing, Uncle Shane."

Shane deflated a little. This was going to be harder than he had expected. He went over and sat on the foot of her bed. "What's going on, Belle? Everyone's worried about you. I thought Jason was going to cry when he didn't get a hug."

At that moment, Annabelle started to cry, and Shane winced. What had he been thinking when he offered to come up here? He desperately wanted to run out of the room and send Caitlyn or Nate up, 

but he was pretty sure that would make Annabelle even more upset. Instead he reached out and pulled the little girl into his lap.

"What's the matter?" he asked softly.

"I don't want Uncle Jason to grow up," Annabelle sobbed.

"What?" Shane asked in shock.

"Mommy said Uncle Jason has a girlfriend, and he might not have as much time to play because they will want to talk with the grown-ups. And he hasn't been here in a long time, and I don't want him to be a real grown up!" Annabelle choked out.

Shane didn't know what to say to make her feel better, but he knew who would. He picked up the sobbing four-year old and carried her gently down the stairs and out into the backyard. He walked past a concerned Caitlyn towards Jason. He looked his friend in the eye as he handed Jason the little girl. "She's afraid you're not going to have time for her because you're dating Peggy. She doesn't want you to turn into a real grown-up," Shane explained.

A look of realization crossed Jason's face, and he carried Annabelle back inside. Mitchie crossed over to Shane and gave him a kiss. When she pulled away, she smiled at him. "I'm proud of you," she said.

"Me too, Shane. I can't believe I didn't figure it out," Caitlyn added shaking her head.

Back inside the house, Jason held the crying child, trying to figure out exactly what to say to comfort her. "Annie-bird, can you look at me?" he asked.

Annabelle lifted her tear-stained face from his shoulder and looked at him. "There's my girl," he said and smiled at her. "I promise that I will never be too busy or too grown-up to play with you, okay?"

She looked at him seriously. "You promise? You'll still be Uncle Jason?"

He nodded. "I love being your Uncle Jason and nothing will ever change that."

She smiled and threw her arms around his neck. "I love you."

Jason held her tight as he said, "I love you too, Annie-bird."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock or Disneyland.

Author's Note: This one was probably a better concept than reality, but I needed a transition chapter. Plus the idea of Shane in Mickey Mouse ears amused me.

As Shane, Jason and Nate finished up in the studio, Nate glanced over at his bandmate and said, "Hey, Jason, Shane and I want to get started planning your bachelor party. Any idea what you want to do?"

Jason stopped what he was doing and pulled his two friends into a group hug, "Thanks, guys. I couldn't ask for better friends!"

Shane pulled away from Jason before adding, "Anything you want buddy – a blow out in Vegas, adventure weekend, whatever."

Jason grinned at his friends, "I really appreciate that, but I don't want a bachelor party."

Shane and Nate exchanged confused looks. "Why not?" Nate asked.

"I just never liked them. Really, what's the point?"

"I think it is supposed to be your last big adventure as a single guy, right?" Shane looked to Nate to confirm his statement.

"Exactly," Jason responded. "I think it's stupid that girls get to celebrate getting married with a shower and nice presents, and guys go act like their life is ending and they have to fit in one last fling. So, I don't want one."

Occasionally Jason said something that made total sense, and it usually caught the guys off-guard. Nate paused a moment before putting his hand on Jason's shoulder, "Obviously you've given this some thought."

"Ya think," Shane mumbled as he watched his chances of a guys' weekend in Vegas disappear. Nate glared at Shane and mouthed, "Not helping."

Nate continued, "We just want to do something to show how excited we are that you and Peggy are getting married. It doesn't have to be a bachelor party. It is supposed to be about you, not about what we want," Nate gave Shane a look when he said this. "You think about what you might like and get back to us, okay?"

A few days later, Jason sat down next to Nate and announced, "I think I know what I want to do."

Nate looked confused. Even after all these years, he still had a difficult time following Jason's thought process at times. He tried to think about the last thing that he had discussed with Jason, but still wasn't sure what his buddy was talking about. "About what?"

"For my non-bachelor party, duh."

"Oh, great! What do you have in mind?" Nate asked.

Jason rubbed his hands together in anticipation, "I want to take you, Shane, Melody and Annabelle to Disneyland and then have a family barbeque with the girls at your house."

"You want to go to Disneyland with my four and six year olds and then have dinner at my house like we do every weekend?"

"Yup. It'll be awesome!" Jason exclaimed. "And it's perfect because it celebrates everything I'm looking forward to when I get married – Peggy, kids, family and friends."

Jason looked so excited that Nate smiled back at his friend. "You got it. Now we just have to tell Shane."

Shane and Nate stood next to a bodyguard watching Jason, Annabelle and Melody spin on the Tea Cup ride. "If he's not careful, Melody is going to throw up on him," Nate observed as he pulled the brim of his Goofy hat further down over his curls. "I told him not to spin too much after she ate that cotton candy."

"Serves him right if she does," Shane grumbled from under his Mouse ears.

Nate smirked at his friend, "Come on Shane; get in the spirit. This is the happiest place on earth, remember?"

Shane had been a willing, if somewhat unenthusiastic, participant in the day's events right up until Jason dragged them all into the hat shop on Main Street. It took Jason, Melody and Annabelle 15 minutes to get Shane to put on the headgear they had picked for him. Nate was pretty sure that photos of Shane in Mickey Mouse ears with his name embroidered on it would be all over the internet before the day was over.

Shane stopped glaring at Nate as Jason and the girls exited the ride and ran towards him. Annabelle rushed up to him, "Uncle Shane, can you go on Space Mountain with me? Uncle Jason says he'll buy me the t-shirt if I'm brave enough to go!"

Shane sighed before smiling down at his niece, "Sure thing, Munchkin." He grabbed her hand and started to walk towards Tomorrowland. "Do you think it's safe for me to wear this great hat on the ride? It might get lost." His sarcasm was lost on the six-year old.

Annabelle stopped walking and looked at Shane in horror. "Uncle Shane, you can't lose your ears! I'm sure that Daddy will hold them for you while we're on the ride."

Shane grinned at Nate before whispering, "How much do you want to accidentally ditch the ears while I'm on the ride?"

"Never gonna happen," Nate replied as he lifted Melody onto Jason's shoulders. Loudly to his daughter he said, "Don't worry princess. I'll guard the ears with my life."

Annabelle continued talking as she began dragging Shane away, "Thanks, Daddy! You have to have your ears for lunch, Uncle Shane. Uncle Jason made us special reservations at Ariel's Grotto for lunch with the princesses. I know that Ariel is going to love taking a picture with you in your ears!"

Nate grinned at Jason as he heard Shane groan, "Princess lunch, huh?"

"I knew the girls would love it," Jason replied.

Nate smirked, "And the fact that it is going to annoy Shane is just an added bonus."

Later that evening sitting around the fire pit in his backyard, Nate had to admit it had been a great day. He was pretty sure that the picture of Shane, Jason, his girls and five princesses was going to have a place of honor in his office. Maybe poster-sized. He had even had fun painting birdhouses with everyone before dinner. He raised his wine glass towards Jason, who sat on the outdoor couch with his arm around Peggy and Annabelle in her Space Mountain t-shirt curled up in his lap. "To Jason and Peggy," he said.

Jason smiled back at his friend, 'To friends and family," Jason replied. He leaned over and kissed Peggy's head. "And the future."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock.

Author's Note: Uncle Jason is now officially done! As requested, he has his own baby. I had to make it a boy because in my mind he already had his girls.

Caitlyn was seconds away from causing a major scene in the hospital. Jason should be with his wife and son right now, enjoying the moment, not trying to convince some power-hungry nurse to let Annabelle in to meet Zachary.

"Please," Jason begged. "Just for a minute or two."

"Sir, this hospital has rules, and they're for everyone," the nurse snapped. "No child under 10 can visit the maternity ward unless he or she is a sibling. No exceptions."

Jason looked pleadingly at Caitlyn for help. He wasn't good with confrontation; he usually left that up to Shane or Peggy. As much as Caitlyn wanted to smack the woman, she knew that it wasn't going to do any good. Instead, she reached over and put her hand on Jason's arm, "It's okay, Jase. I will let her know you tried, and maybe she can call and talk to you and Peggy. You go back before you miss anything else." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

He hesitated a moment, and Caitlyn narrowed her eyes. "Jason if you don't go right now and see your wife and son, I might have to hurt you. I've got everything else covered."

He smiled at her gratefully before turning and hurrying down the hallway towards Peggy's room. Caitlyn sunk back into the uncomfortable seat in the waiting area and put her head in her hands, working up the energy to go home. She had been at the hospital for eighteen hours waiting for the birth of Jason and Peggy's first child, and she was exhausted.

"Honestly, some people. They'll be home in a day, and they expect us to bend hospital rules for them," a nurse grumbled.

"I know. Why do people have to make our lives so difficult and make such a big deal out of it? She can see the baby tomorrow," the original nurse replied.

Caitlyn's eyes flashed as she overheard the nurses' comments. She stood and looked the women in the face. "It's a big deal because he knows there's an eight year old girl at home right now worried that her uncle and best friend is going to forget about her now that he has his own baby." Everyone at the nurses' station froze, staring at Caitlyn as she continued. "Do you honestly think he would be out here missing his son's first bath if it wasn't important? He wants to make sure she feels included." Caitlyn's voice cracked at this point as she was overwhelmed with love for the man who had done so much for her children. Anger pulsed through her body as she grabbed her purse and turned towards the elevators. She mumbled a "sorry" as she accidentally bumped into a man in a suit as she exited the maternity ward.

Caitlyn was pulling into her driveway wondering what she was going to tell Annabelle when her phone rang.

"Hey, Caitlyn guess what?" a tired, but happy Jason said. "The hospital administrator just came in and said Annabelle can come visit. Isn't that awesome!"

"She'll be so excited!" Caitlyn exclaimed. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," Jason said, his voice full of confusion. "I thought you had stormed the administration office or something. He just walked in and said congratulations on our new baby and that the nurses have been told to let my niece in."

"Weird," Caitlyn responded, wondering what had brought about the change. "Ask Peggy when we should come."

There was a paused before Jason replied, "She says anytime, so come now." Caitlyn laughed and agreed.

An hour later, Caitlyn was putting a visitor badge on Annabelle's sweater as the young girl clutched a huge teddy bear for her new "cousin". As Caitlyn straightened up, she noticed one of the nurses who she had addressed earlier. The older woman was avoiding making eye contact. Caitlyn put a hand on Annabelle's shoulder to signal her to wait and spoke quietly, "I want to apologize for raising my voice with you earlier and let you know I didn't go over your head."

The nurse gave Caitlyn a wan smile. "I know, and I appreciate that," she said. "It turned out the hospital administrator passed you in the hallway on your way out. As soon as he heard the story, he rushed to their room."

Caitlyn nodded, remembering the man in the suit she had almost run over. The nurse looked sheepish as she continued speaking. "I had no idea they were celebrities. They certainly don't act like it."

Caitlyn smiled. "No, not Jason and Peggy." After an awkward pause she continued, "Well, we'd better get going. Have a nice day."

"You too."

Annabelle was vibrating with excitement as she headed down the hallway with her mother, but when they arrived at the room, she hung back in the doorway clutching the bear, intimidated by the hospital room. Peggy noticed their arrival first and smiled at the nervous girl.

"Annabelle, we're so excited you're here," Peggy said, her voice reflecting her obvious exhaustion. "Is that bear for Zachary?"

Grinning, Annabelle nodded and entered the room.

"That's the coolest teddy bear I've ever seen," Jason announced. "I think it's bigger than he is."

Annabelle giggled as Jason swept her and the bear up into a hug. He whispered into her ear, "Do you want to hold him?"

Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she nodded again. Caitlyn looked at her daughter before commenting, "Annabelle must be excited; I don't think I've ever seen her speechless before."

Glaring at her mother, Annabelle finally spoke, "I would love to hold him."

Jason lifted Annabelle up onto the bed next to Peggy, who showed the little girl how to place her arms. Jason gently lifted his son from the bassinet and kissed him on the nose before placing him carefully in Annabelle's waiting arms. Peggy put her arm around Annabelle's shoulder to help provide extra support, and Jason knelt down next to the bed.

Annabelle looked down at the tiny bundle in her arms. He had beautiful mocha skin and a shock of black hair. His eyes were closed, and his tiny fist was nestled against his cheek. Her eyes were full of wonder as she looked up at her mom.

"Mommy, he's so cute."

"I know," Caitlyn said with a smile. "How about I take a picture of the four of you?"

Annabelle smiled as her mother snapped a few pictures to capture this important moment.

"We'd better go, sweetheart," Caitlyn said. "Auntie Peggy and Zachary need to get some rest."

Annabelle sighed, knowing that this was not a time to argue with her mom. She turned to Peggy and asked, "Can I kiss him?"

"Of course," Peggy said.

Annabelle leaned down and carefully placed a kiss on the top of the sleeping baby's head. Then Jason took his son and placed him back in the bassinet. Annabelle hopped off the bed and made her way over to Jason, slipping her hand into his. They stood there for a moment just looking at Zachary.

"He's a lucky baby, Uncle Jason, cause he has you for a daddy," Annabelle finally said.

Jason looked down at her and smiled, "I think I'm the lucky one. I have you and Melody and Zachary. Auntie Peggy and I are counting on you two to help us with him. Do you think you can do that?"

Annabelle nodded and gave Jason a hug. "I love you Uncle Jason."

"Love you too, Annie-bird."


End file.
